Usually I like to have a book in the house for at least 2 weeks before I sit down and review it. This ensures that we’ve read it multiple times and that I have had ample opportunity to observe how Ivy feels about a story. However I am breaking with tradition with this one as she is totally in love. We only received this book yesterday afternoon but we’re already well in to double figures on the number of times it’s been read!
Bear and Hamster are the best of friends. They are very happy living together in their little house, but every time they turn on the TV they are subjected to very loud adverts from an extremely persuasive salesbird called Sneaky Beak. They laugh at the ads together but in bed at night Bear finds himself wondering if perhaps he is missing out. As he feels a bed spring ping beneath him, he thinks that maybe he might need Sneaky Beak’s help.
It starts with the Snores-Galore Mega Bed, but soon Sneaky Beak upsells him to a Super Whirl Turbo Tub, a Crunch-O-Matic Granola Maker and even a rocket to the moon. Each new purchase takes him further away from who he really is, and further away from his best friend Hamster.
Will Bear see the error of his ways before he loses his friend, and himself?
Ivy seemed to just ‘get’ this book straight away and as a parent that made me really happy! It’s so cleverly written that even a 3 year old could immediately see that Sneaky Beak was a dodgy character and that Bear didn’t need all the silly things he was buying.
This is a fantastically fun story about being happy with what you have – and I definitely think i’ll be mentioning Sneaky Beak next time she spots something shiny and plastic in the window of our local toy shop!
Tony Neal’s illustrations are a perfect match for this cautionary tale about materialism. The facial expressions (particularly Bear’s raised eyebrows whenever things go wrong) are absolutely spot on!
Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2jPeB5y
Disclosure: A copy of this book was gifted to us by the publisher at a Picture Book Showcase event we attended.